| "The Gift": Analysis of "The Gift" Arc of ABC-TV's Port Charles
(c) Alison Armstrong |
| An analysis of the "The Gift" episodes of the show Port Charles, formerly of ABC-TV. This site will focus on the scenes featuring the vampire character Caleb Morley/Stephen Clay (portrayed by actor Michael Easton). The character of Caleb Morley/Stephen Clay and any other characters relating to Port Charles are the property of ABC and their creators. This is a fan-run site and is not an official site, nor is it affiliated in any way with ABC, Port Charles, or the actors portraying any of the Port Charles characters. No copyright infringement is intended. The writings on this site are copyrighted by the author, Alison Armstrong, and may not be reproduced without the author's express permission. |
| "The Gift" #8 (cont.) “Elizabeth , it’s been awhile,” Caleb murmurs, his voice seductive. “Hmm, it has,” she purrs. “And you know, I’ve just been sitting at home anxiously awaiting your return. We are still married.” “Hmm,” he smirks, teasing her with his allure. “Not that that matters to the concubine,” Elizabeth sneers in an expression of queenly disdain, then launches into an excited spiel about her new “designer friend” Georges (pronounced with an exaggerated French accent ), who is scheduled to attend Alison’s gym opening party. “His new exercise line has just taken the European collections by storm,” she gushes. “He’s one of my oldest friends. He’s fabulous.” “Good . . . because I’ve never heard of him,” Livvie mutters. “I don’t doubt that you haven’t. His styles are synonymous with class and culture,” Elizabeth snipes, assuming a snobbishly sophisticated air. She delights in flaunting her alleged association with a pseudo-celebrity, even though it is someone no one else there has apparently heard of. Like the vampire she used to be, she feeds on the psychic energy in the room, the excitement of the party preparations, the attention focused briefly upon her, the sense of power and importance she believes she may be able to achieve as a result of her name-dropping grasp for fame. She basks in this self-deluded moment of glory, thinking everyone will be impressed with her. Alison, however, appears to be the only one impressed, and even she may be merely assuaging her mother’s narcissistic craving for attention. Caleb disrupts Elizabeth ’s little moment in the spotlight by reminding her that, “fascinating” as her friendship with famed designers may be, he and Rafe are here to discuss other matters. Taking the cue, Rafe then leads Elizabeth away, perhaps to keep her from provoking Livvie’s fury, perhaps to evade the conversation he resists having with Caleb. He hopes that Caleb will just give up and leave, but he knows that this would probably not happen. Caleb is as obsessive about seeking answers as Rafe is at evading discussion of them. “Hmm,” Caleb smiles and turns towards Alison, “your mother, she retains that unique way of annoying people.” His voice is soft, gently mocking, tinged with condescending fondness. Irritated yet amused, Caleb still seems to harbor some affection for his estranged wife. |
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| Snappies of "The Gift" scenes taken by A. Armstrong |
| “Yeah, like mother, like daughter, huh?” Livvie sourly observes. “We’ve got business to attend to, OK?” Alison scolds, pointing out that Elizabeth , like themselves, is “trying to do the best that she can . . . to get things back to normal.” Although, privately, to Rafe, she has confided her worry over the personality exchange, she does not want to reveal her unease to Caleb and Livvie. She tries to put the incident behind her, tries to “move forward” on her new life with Rafe and their fitness center. “And now I’m going to go check up on the food, OK?” she announces. “Yeah, check on the muffins,” Caleb quips, a joking reminder that Alison is back to fussing about domestic affairs, ready to resume her happy homemaking life, while Livvie is back to being the pouty, petulant vixen he loves so well. Gone is the cloying sweet Tess-like parody of Alison possessing the body of his beloved. Back is his spitfire, his sensual partner in crime. |
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| When Rafe returns from escorting Elizabeth back to the party preparations, he finds Caleb still waiting to talk about the problems besetting Livvie and Alison and potentially endangering the rest of Port Charles. |